Keep Your Mind Wide Open
by Mystical Pen
Summary: It took Jesse Aarons more than a decade to get over Leslie Burke's death. Now a successful illustrator for children's books, what would Jess do if he met an author who, in his opinion, uncannily looks like what Leslie would have looked like if she had lived? Would some truths about the past be uncovered? Or would it all end up as nothing but a cruel joke played by Fate?
1. Better Than Any Kid I've Ever Seen

**Disclaimer:** The author, _MysticalPen_, does **not** own Bridge to Terabithia. The book and its characters belong to their rightful owners. No profit whatsoever is being made through this fanfiction.

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**Keep Your Mind Wide Open**

_A Bridge to Terabithia FanFiction_

_By: MysticalPen_

_Chapter 1 – Better Than Any Kid I've Ever Seen_

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_Tick. Driiip. Tick. Driiip. _For every tick of the clock, the sound of fingers drumming on the tabletop accompanied the mechanical sound, effectively drowning the _Tock._ Nerves were heightened; palms were prickly like thousands of needles were stabbing simultaneously, and ribs were being hit hard by a frantic heart. Chaos seemed to take over the whole inside of the body, but the outside seemed at peace. Only those who had the same habit would have been able to guess that the eyes looking far into the beautiful horizon were at all troubled.

"Nervous, Aarons?" the representative of the publishing company penetrated Jesse Oliver Aarons JR's concentration, his voice dripping with a combination of sympathy and amusement.

"Kinda. A little bit, I guess," came Jesse's distracted answer. His eyes were still glued to the view, but a tick of the clock later, he looked at Mr. Bard, the representative of the publishing company. "Well, not exactly just nervous. I'm kind of..." he paused for a moment, thinking of the correct word that would describe what he was feeling that exact moment. "Feeling a combination of nervous, excited and curious. Does that make sense?"

Mr. Leonardo Bard nodded curtly twice, and then inclined his head to one side. "It does...a bit. You're not the first illustrator to feel that, Jess. It's just natural to feel all of that, but I'll bet you're more curious about what they look like, aren't you?" There was a glint of amusement tainting the eyes of the twenty-four year old rep as he looked back at the twenty-two year old illustrator as if he knew an amusing joke that was being kept from Jesse. Knowing the rep, it was probably true.

Jesse clamped his hands together on top of the table, an attempt to calm his hands. It was futile, however, because even though he had stopped drumming his fingers on the polished wood of the table, his thumbs now wouldn't stop tapping each other. At this, Leo chuckled again, but Jesse ignored him. The thing was, this was more complex than what Leo would ever understand, Jess was sure of it. This whole arrangement was, in itself, really complicated. The author of the book, Down the Rainbow, wasn't the first person Jess had illustrated for, but they were the first person to insist on working with him under strict levels of secrecy and mystery. Though this was not new, it was rare. In past projects, Jess was at least given the name of the author aside from the manuscript of the book prior to starting the project. This was done so that Jess could look into some information about past works and likes and dislikes of the author when it comes to art, so he would know what style the author would want with the artworks. But the publishing company didn't give him any names. When Jess asked Leo why, he said that the author requested for their identity to not be revealed to him, at least until the illustrations were finished and the book was published. The reason behind this was a personal reason that the author also requested to be kept in confidence. At first, Jess was really ticked off by the level of mystery and secrecy. He didn't see any point in it and he didn't see how it would help in the process of hastening the production of the book. But this was instantly changed when, in compensation for the lack of name, Jess was given the author's e-mail address. It was then explained that the author wanted Jess to contact them, exchange ideas and ask the questions he needed to ask through the internet. Though the author preferred to keep their identity a mystery, it didn't mean they would not not be open to assisting the illustrator. And that was how it had started.

E-mails, IM's, chats, those were the medium of connection that the author and illustrator had with each other throughout the following months. Jesse never learned their name, he never saw their face, but in a different level, Jess got to know the person. He would ask them important questions like what brought on the idea for this certain section of the book, and the author would be more than glad to answer Jess. He also knew that the person was friendly because instead of curt and generic answers to the question, they would really elaborate and explain thoroughly to the illustrator, providing him with an extra peek into the personality of the mystery author. Only two weeks into this routine, Jess was so comfortable about the arrangement that he had finally realized that the answers provided through this technique of connection were infinitely better than what he would have found out through his researches if he had been given the name of the author. After that, Jess had understood the whole point of that decision of the author. Two weeks into the process, Jess felt like he'd known the person for years. There was no face, no name, but he felt like he had been gifted with a special connection and friendship with the person that he could not have achieved through other means. Because of this, Jess learned to respect the person's secrecy. Whenever they would hit a roadblock in their conversations, hit a section where the person preferred not to divulge the information to him, Jess would let it go, completely confident that the person kept it a secret for a very reasonable cause. The illustrator had grown so comfortable of their technique of work that when the time finally came for them to really meet up, the thought of it had filled him with dread. Now, he wasn't sure what the implication would be if they break their dynamic and venture into the world with a different approach.

"I won't lie, I am curious regarding how they look," Jesse explained, but, wanting to clarify on the topic, he elaborated, "But Lei, we've been doing this for months, and the book is a fruit of how amazingly the secrecy between us had worked. I know at first, I was against it, but two weeks into the process, I learned that their approach was much better. It had become a safe zone for me and the author. I just feel a little bit scared of what it will be like now if we shake off that technique and shed the secrecy," he explained, his hands gesturing wildly as if doing that would help him make Leo understand his explanation more. Truthfully, it only distracted the rep. "I'm excited, yes, because I feel like I've found a friend in this person. Regardless of how old they are, I've found a reliable companion, and now I'm meeting this companion. Finally, the only remaining barrier between me and them is finally getting eliminated, but the nerves still trumps that. It's just really hard to explain." As if to emphasize how hard it was for him to explain, one hand reached up to scratch at the back of his neck, messing up the short hairs on his nape. "You wouldn't understand, you've seen what they look like, you know them. You wouldn't understand my dilemma."

Leonardo chuckled, obviously enjoying Jesse's torment. "You should really hear yourself right now, Jess. It's like you're meeting the president with how nervous you are. But the words you're saying to explain your connection with this person, it's like you're meeting up with a mystery date," He shook his head, his face still obviously entertained. "It's hard not to laugh at your expense, dude."

Glaring at Leo, Jess replied, "Shut up, Lei. This is no joke. I'm serious about this," he said, averting his eyes.

"That's not all of it, though, is it? You're scared of something else," Leo prompted, kicking at Jess' chair to get his attention back. "I can see it in your eyes, Aarons. There's something else. What is it?"

Jesse turned back to Leo. "Well, I haven't thought about this before, just now while I was on my way here," he took a deep breath before releasing it in a loud exhale, "The thing is...I've been really familiar with the author. I've been really personal with them. In my interactions with them, I spoke to them like we're the same age. Now I'm worried, what if they're really older than me? What if he's an old man that's as old as my dad or my grandpa? I keep thinking I should have been more respectful towards them. I don't want him to think I'm not respectful of my elders." He knew he shouldn't have admitted that. Knowing Leo, he would just make fun of Jess even more because of it, but it had been bugging the illustrator nonstop that he couldn't keep it in any longer. True to his assumptions, Leo reacted the way he expected him to.

At that, Leo finally burst out laughing like Jess had finally delivered the punch line of the big joke. In between his chuckles, he would murmur softly, low enough that Jess didn't hear him, "Him. Old man. Grandpa. Oh, that's a good one."

"You're such a good friend, aren't you?" Jess asked sarcastically, the intensity of his glare only making Leo laugh harder. They'd known each other for years now. Leo, a guy with blond hair that was always brushed up in a quiff, light blue eyes, and tall stature, was the son of the chairman of the publishing company Jess worked in as an illustrator. He was the representative of the company, going on tours and book signings with the writers and illustrators of the books they published. Being the rep, Leo had the privilege to be the bridge of connection between the company, the writer, and the illustrator, which meant that on all occasions, Leo had met the writers before the illustrators had. This was an advantage he always used over Jess, always joking about what the writer really looked like. For the first couple of years they worked together, Jess always asked Leo about what the writers looked like, what their names were and more information about them prior to personally meeting the authors. During those years, Leo had always found it funny to joke about the information, often flipping them and supplying Jess with the opposite information, mostly in terms of looks. Now having learned his lesson, Jess never asked Leo anymore. This didn't mean that the blond didn't offer his descriptions, though.

"What? I am a good friend. See, I'm going to give a little clue on what you should expect. You're right, man, it's an old guy. I think he's the same age as your father, yeah. I've never asked for sure, but it's kinda general knowledge. He's a pretty serious guy when it comes to his works, as I'm sure you already know because, like you said, your e-mails with him just screamed of professionalism. I'm actually even surprised you got on a personal level with him."

"Well, it's not like I know their life story now, not really. I just, you know, gathered a lot about their personality based on my interpretations of the thoughts they told me regarding what brought up certain ideas in the book," Jesse supplied.

"Okay, that makes sense," Leo simply said. He dared not elaborate that much on that part because he didn't really know a lot about the person, only that they really were very professional and passionate about writing. He was merely guessing. "About what they look like...you know, gray hair, like salt and pepper kind of hair, sprinkled with white and gray here and there. Wrinkles, age spots, you know, the usual. And..." he paused for a moment, his face serious as if he was divulging important information. Jess straightened his back, leaning to the right to hear better, completely believing Leo. After all, that description was kind of what he had in mind as well based on how wise the writer's statements sounded to him. "And...the most important part, Jess...He's got giraffe head," Leo finished, whispering the last part as if he was telling Jess a secret.

For a few moments, Jess' face contorted in confusion. In his mind, he started asking if the person might have looked kind of like a giraffe in terms of elongated facial features. The image in his head that he had been building based on Leo's descriptions suddenly morphed into the image of a man with a long, pointy face. For a few moments, his mouth popped open, confusion taking over his features as a soft "Are you sure-?" slipped through his lips, but then he caught Leo's amused eyes, and he finally realized that Leo was having him on, and that he had fallen for the joke yet again. "Ugh, dang it, Leo!" he exclaimed, kicking at the foot of Leo's chair. This only made the latter laugh even louder.

"You never learn, man, you never learn. You say you do, but you really don't," Leo said in between barks of laughter.

"You suck, Bard." Jess scoffed, his mouth twisted in slight irritation as he leaned back on his chair, his fingers resuming its drumming routine on the table top. "I'm never talking to you about serious things like this ever again."

Shaking his head as his laughter slowly died, Leo said, "Forget about that for now, Jess. Just draw while you wait." He bent down on his seat to reach out for the duffel bag that Jess had brought. He laid the bag on the table and slid it across to Jess. "You've got a sketch pad in there, I know. Drawing helps when you're nervous, doesn't it? Distract yourself so you won't continue to bug me with your finger-drumming thing. They'll be here in about half an hour. They just got stuck in traffic. You've waited months for this day, what's another half hour? Use the scenery," he pointed to the horizon that Jess had been staring at a while ago. "Just draw it and the next thing you know, they'd be here, and you'll realize just how stupid it is of you to even be nervous about this."

Realizing there was nothing better to do than what Leo had just suggested, and also thinking it was better than striking conversation with the rep and risking being made fun of again, Jess reached into his bag and took out his best friend, his sketch pad. He always brought it with him no matter where he went. Even when other people said he would have no time to draw, he still brought it in case a short chance presented itself. Most of the time, he was right. Whenever he was waiting for a train or he was stranded somewhere, he would just whip out his sketchpad, and the next thing he knew, time had flown by fast. His imagination, even through the years, had never failed in entertaining and distracting him, bringing him to various worlds where nothing else but beautiful things seemed to exist. He had always been able to use his imagination as an escape route, it had never failed him no matter how many years had passed.

So that was how he spent his next half an hour. While Leo fiddled with his phone, stood up to take and make calls to various people, Jess stayed in his seat, his eyes glued to the paper in front of him. His hand and pencil flew every which way as the image he had embedded in his mind was transferred realistically on his pad. He was completely oblivious to what was going on around him, he was completely immersed in the world that his imagination had built for him. Without him noticing, the half hour had passed. He was too absorbed in his sketch that he didn't even notice when the door finally opened and the person he was about to meet had stepped into the same room as him.

The pencil scratched against the material of the paper, the sound of it providing calm and relaxation for Jess. It had, for the time being, erased all troubling thoughts that had plagued his mind an hour prior. Unknown to him, the author he had been so nervous and excited to meet thirty minutes ago was now directly standing behind him, looking over his shoulder and watching him draw. When Leo made a move to extract Jess from his concentration, the author merely put a finger on their lips to tell Leo to keep shushed for a moment longer.

Jess continued to draw, completely oblivious to how amazed and in awe the author looked as they surveyed his artwork. Though the author had seen Jess' work when the illustrations made for the book were sent to them, this sketch was different. To fit better with the genre of the book, the style that Jess used in his illustrations for the author held youth, a child's wonder, within the strokes of colours. This time, as Jesse Aarons drew the scenery that stretched in front of the wide window onto his paper, the lines of the pencil screamed realism. The author was mesmerized by how real the scenery looked. Even though it was a sketch produced only with a pencil, it still looked like a whole world had been captured in that pad of paper.

The statement was said softly, then, just a whisper, just a caress of a breath in the wind. The proximity of the speaker was so close that when the statement had been said, the whisper touched Jess' skin. But more than that, Jess felt like the words stroked his soul because the words uttered were words that resembled something he'd once heard, words that once meant so much to him, words that once changed the course of his life. As he heard the statement, all hairs in the back of Jess' neck stood on end.

In reality, the words said were, "Wow, you're really good. Better than any children's book illustrator I've ever seen." But in Jess' mind, what his memory brought out and said was, "Wow, you're really good at drawing. Better than any kid I've ever seen." In an instant, Jess' head turned to look at the speaker, and what he saw then was something that made his heart jump out of his chest, skip two or three beats, and start drumming in the fastest pace he'd ever experienced.

Leo moved to finally introduce the author to Jess, but Jess didn't need introductions. His own eyes were glued to the greens of the author's orbs, as green as the leaves of the trees in the forests of Terabithia, and while he stared, he knew he could not be wrong. No matter how impossible other people might say it was, he could not be mistaken. He would know and recognize those eyes anywhere and anytime.

As Leo said, "Jess, this is the author of Down the Rainbow," and finally introduced the author, two different names hung thick in the air, one was the name said by Leo, and the other was the name dictated by Jess' heart and spoken by Jess' surprised voice.

"S.A. Brooke."

"Leslie Burke."

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**A/N: **I'm guessing you're confused right now, and are about to ask a lot of questions like: Is this an AU where the accident with Leslie didn't happen? Is this a world where they didn't become as close as they were in the book and the movie? Is that even actually Leslie or just someone who looks kinda like her? Questions like that will be answered in the following chapters. Though this will be written in third person point-of-view, we will be divulging into the thought processes of our characters, and as best as I can, I will focus on equal amount of character development for our two protagonists. That means that you will follow the journey of our characters in terms of finding answers. So some questions might be answered early, some pretty late into the story. Do not fret, though, because all questions will be answered. As of now, you have to be patient, and the information that you have to know is that...this is mainly based on the 2007 movie starring AnnaSophia Robb and Josh Hutcherson.

Send in some reviews, darling. I know only few people read BtT FanFictions at this year because it's been a long time since the book was published and the movie was shown, but yanno, this thought and plot has been eating at my brain for quite a while now. I really wanted to write it, so here you go. Send reviews because it helps with the inspiration. Thanks!


	2. Windows to the Soul

**Disclaimer:** The author, MysticalPen, does not own Bridge to Terabithia. The book and its characters belong to their rightful owners. No profit whatsoever is being made through this fanfiction.

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Keep Your Mind Wide Open  
A Bridge to Terabithia FanFiction  
By: MysticalPen  
02 – Windows to the Soul

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She was late, she was incredibly late; that was the thought that kept nagging her as she sat at the back of the car. The soles of her shoes made soft thudding sounds against the carpet as she continued to tap her feet—a clear sign of her impatience. If that wasn't enough indication, she also kept asking the driver if there weren't any alternative routes they could take. Safe to say that her driver already knew she was in panic. No matter how obvious it was, though, and no matter how hard she stared at her wrist watch and how many hundred times she asked the driver, time didn't seem to go on a standstill. In fact, as the world—or just the traffic, really—seemed to spin slower and everyone seemed to move in slower motion, time ran several times faster. It was just a trick of perception, she knew, and there was no way time can actually go faster, but still, that knowledge did nothing to alleviate her panic at being late for her appointment.

"Aren't there any shortcuts we can take, Mr. Hobbs?" she asked for what seemed like the hundredth time, her eyebrows squished together in the middle of her forehead, her blue-green eyes glassy with impatience. It was a good thing her driver, an old, plump man, was really nice, patient and, most importantly, used to her antics. If it hadn't been Mr. Hobbs driving her, she would have been receiving a death glare per one inquiry by now.

"You asked me that twenty seconds ago, Sophie," the man said, looking at Sophie through the rear view mirror. From what she can see of his eyes, she could tell he was still amused and not the least bit irritated about the sense of urgency that hung inside the car courtesy of Sophie.

Sophie pouted as she leaned closer to the driver's seat. "But has the answer changed, Mr. Hobbs?"

Shaking his head with an amused smile painting his lips, he answered, "No, it hasn't. We barely moved at all. There are no shortcuts near this area, Soph."

The young woman sighed heavily—and quite loudly—as she tapped the canines of her teeth, another sign that she was antsy on her seat. She scooted closer to the door of the car and looked out the window. Exactly as Mr. Hobbs had said, they had barely moved at all. If she would try to estimate how far they'd moved since the past five minutes, she would say they'd moved about six feet. She knew because she could still see the fire hydrant where she saw a dog relieve its bladder five minutes ago. She sighed once again, her hand and forefinger pushing on her temple to chase away the migraine that was starting to settle. Just then, her phone beeped, signalling that she had just received a text.

The phone was brought out of her purse immediately, almost desperately. It even slipped out of her hands in her haste. Good thing it fell on her lap instead of on the floor of the car. She clutched at the gadget like her life depended on it. It was her only reprieve from the boredom of the trip. Also, it was her only source of update. Since the time of the start of the meeting had approached, she'd been texting the representative of the publishing company, the only person between the two she was going to meet today that had her number. She had texted him the reason why she was gonna be late, followed by strings after strings of apology. Ever since then, the rep had been replying to her and texting her updates about the mood of the illustrator, J.O. Aarons.

"_S, J thinks u're an old, wrinkly man as old as his grandpa," _said the text, and as soon as she finished reading it, a loud laugh burst out through her lips. It was the first laugh she'd released since her panic had taken over. This change had made the driver look at the rear view mirror again, curious as to what she was laughing about now, when only a minute ago, she was so upset, her lips were almost permanently pushed out in a frown.

"Care to share the joke?" Mr. Hobbs asked as the vehicle moved another feet.

"Apparently, the person I'm gonna meet with today thinks I'm an old wrinkly man."

Even the driver found it funny, obviously, because a chuckle came out, followed by a simple, "If you're old, then what am I? Ancient?" It was a rhetorical question that Sophie only answered with a snort.

The young woman punched in a reply to Leo—her smile still intact—and momentarily forgot about the thick traffic. "_Last time I checked, my hair's still blonde and not yet gray; still no signs of rheumatism and forgetfulness either. Tell your BFF he's safe."_

A series of texts where then exchanged between him and Leo. According to the rep, J looked like he was about to lose his mind worrying about whether or not he had extended the sufficient amount of respect he should have during their interactions. It was because of this reason that Sophie found a new level of her respect blooming for J. He really was something, wasn't he?

The past few months of exchanging e-mails with illustrator had been an experience that Sophie had never had before. Behind the walls of secrecy, it was like she had learned something more important that identities and names could never teach her. As an attempt to be as fair as possible towards J.O. Aarons in the situation that she had proposed, Sophie didn't ask for the illustrator's full name either. Yes, his public name was enough of a basis for her to look into his life and find out more about him, but never once had she made any attempts to uncover anything about the illustrator's life. She had wanted the balance of their professionalism to be as levelled as possible. Whatever she knew about the illustrator, she had found out straight from his own e-mails. Except for his gender and his age, of course, which was information provided for her. She had no say in that knowledge. It was handed to her without her asking for it, but aside from that, nothing more. No names were exchanged, and even Leo was in on it. The rep hadn't ever referred to the illustrator by his first name since the start of the arrangement. Ever since then, between the three of them—her, Leo and J—Sophie had been referred to as "S", and the illustrator as "J".

"_I just told him to draw. Hopefully that will distract him & stop him from drumming his dang fingers on the table. It's driving me nuts!"_

A simple smile stretched at Sophie's lips at Leo's idea of distraction. Based on what she knew about J from the e-mails they'd exchanged before, drawing was something that J loved doing. He had been drawing even when he was still young. He once mentioned that an old friend of his used to tease him that he was drawing before he even learned how to walk. Although, according to him, he didn't get to do it for fun anymore, unlike when he was ten. Now, drawing had become his career. Most of the time, he drew for his job. It was very rare that he got to draw something just because he wanted to. Most of the time, it was only a way to pass the time. The reason behind this, though, she didn't know. That topic had sprouted out of nowhere, just a passing mention. On the next e-mail, no traces of an answer were written. That talk had gone away as fast as it had come. Sophie knew then that the reason behind it might have been a personal one. And she respected that. So now, hearing that J at least got a little bit of time to draw for fun and hobby, it made her feel a teeny bit less guilty for her tardiness.

"_At least that's better than me being stuck in traffic here, Lei. I'm really, really sorry,"_ she replied to the rep. Only a few seconds later, she got a text back saying, _"Nah, s'okay. Altho, you gotta be here in 30 mins, S. I told J you'd be here by then. And if you're not, I dunno what's gon' happen to him. He might just pee his pants because of his nerves."_

Another chuckle slipped past Sophie's mouth then, but she knew Leo was right. She had to be there in thirty minutes. She was being unprofessional enough as it was. Besides, she actually was very excited to finally meet J.O. Aarons face-to-face. She knew she was a nice guy, and a very talented one at that. She wanted to know what he was like in person. She knew she had gained a friend in him during the few months of them working together.

"Mr. Hobbs, are we there yet?" she asked yet again.

"I'm sorry, darling, but we're still quite a long way away."

Sophie ducked her head and looked at the road up front. She noticed the traffic was still thick, and the building next to the restaurant they were going to was still a long way away. A sigh escaped her lips once more. "Why is it even this packed on the road? It's not even rush hour." She couldn't help the tone of irritation from tainting her voice yet again.

"I actually don't know, Sophie," Mr. Hobbs replied. "It's usually not this packed at this hour." He pointed out the window, at Sophie's side. There, a clump of civilians stood, apparently talking amongst themselves while craning their necks to look far into the horizon. "Why don't you roll down your window and ask?"

She did as she was told and asked the group of civilians standing there. According to them, there had been an accident a few blocks down, and because of it, one lane of the road had been blocked off. Both directions of traffic were now sharing a single lane. After asking what street it was that the accident was close to, Sophie had said her thanks and had rolled her window back up.

"That's not too far from here, right Mr. Hobbs?"

"Uhh, Sophie, it actually is. It's more than ten blocks away."

"Yeah, I know. It's not that far."

Mr. Hobbs turned to look at Sophie, his eyes seemingly asking if she had managed to forget to bring her sanity with her that afternoon. When the driver saw that the young woman was serious, his eyes widened. "Oh, no, no, no, I know what you're thinking. No, young lady, you are not allowed to do that." Just as he was voicing his disagreement, though, Sophie had started putting her things back in her purse. As soon as she was sure she hadn't forgotten anything, she started taking her shoes off.

"What do you think you're doing, young lady?" the driver asked, his voice starting to sound panicked.

"Taking my shoes off, Mr. Hobbs. I thought you'd have figured that out. It's quite obvious."

"Do not sass me, Sophie. I know what you're thinking, and you are not allowed to do it!" he repeated once more.

"But Mr. Hobbs, I'm late. Besides, it's not like I haven't done this before, you know."

"That is not an excuse!" the driver interjected. And then, he pushed a button in the car to lock the door. As the locks clicked, he looked at Sophie, his face triumphant. "Ha! You can't get out now."

Sophie snickered. She knew, she just knew, that Mr. Hobbs would do that. Unknown to the driver, when she rolled down the windows a while ago, she had also unlocked the door. The locks wouldn't have worked because the door wasn't firmly shut. Grinning proudly, Sophie pushed on her door and as soon as it was open, she slipped out of the car. "Sorry, Mr. Hobbs. I really have to do this. I'll make up for it later!" She blew a kiss to the panicked and fuming driver. He was going to follow her, she knew. Too bad he wouldn't be able to open his door because their car was too close to the one on their left. The door wouldn't open wide enough for his plump body to squeeze through. She had been lucky that her side was open because the sidewalk was on her immediate right. Sophie didn't hang around too long to see how the driver would remedy the problem, though. With her shoes on her hands, and her feet on asphalt, she started running towards the restaurant where her meeting would be. She even had to climb over the hoods of some cars just so she could cross the street, but she didn't mind much. The owners of the cars did, however. Too bad they had the same problem Mr. Hobbs had.

Safe to say that the sight of a young woman wearing corporate attire sprinting down the packed street and walking over cars while barefoot had provided the people something else to occupy their minds aside from the traffic.

_She really was something, wasn't she?_

* * *

Once upon a time, about a decade ago, Jess found out what it felt like to fall from a great height. He had shut his eyes back then, tight and hard, but even through the veil of darkness behind his eyelids, he still felt the sharp talons of gravity sink into his skin and creep through his veins as he fell, filling each and every artery with dread. He had been in Terabithia at the time, retrieving his dad's keys that May Belle had stolen. He had fallen from the top of the tree. He had no vine, no branch, no ropes to hold on to that could stop him from falling. He had nothing but the empty air cradling him. As he fell and sliced through the air, his fear ate him whole upon his realization that at one point, he would clash with the ground. He had been lucky at the time. He had been saved before his body met the ground, but that exact same feeling of falling through empty air, though, was what Jess felt now, in that very moment as he sat on his chair. Though his feet were rooted to the marble floor and he was stable on his seat, he still felt like he was falling. All the hairs on his body seemed to stand on end, incredibly alert, his blood seemed to spike up, and it was like his soul was being snatched away from his body. All of these were what he felt as he stared into the blue-greens of the author's eyes. It was very much like falling. Only this time, there were no friendly giant trolls to catch him and break his fall. And so on and on and on he fell...

"Leslie Burke," the name spilled over Jess' lips like overflowing water that couldn't be stopped. To be quite honest, he didn't know even why the name fell from his mouth. One moment he was looking at the blue greens of the author's eyes, and the next thing that Jess felt was that he was falling, falling, falling down the unknown, falling down the void. He felt like he was slicing through the air, his arms flailing and his hands frantically grasping at emptiness. In a literal word, however, what Jess was feeling in that moment could be summed up by just one: lost. He was incredibly lost. Why? Because he kept trying to grasp in the darkness for an answer as to why he suddenly thought of Leslie the very moment he laid eyes on this author. Did she look like Leslie? Did her voice sound like Leslie's? At the moment, he couldn't concentrate enough to try and find answers for these questions. All he knew was that every second that ticked from that moment on, was suddenly filled with thoughts of his best friend that had long been gone. They were thoughts that he had tried to bury under years and years of oblivion, but now they were jumping out at him like plants sprouting out from beneath the earth at the sight of the sun.

_Why? Why? Why? _The confusion consumed him. The moment his eyes found hers, it was like an army of bugs had started marching over to Jess and crawled up his body. Each bug stood for a different emotion: confusion, loss, desperation, panic, and each of these bugs had bitten and stung him simultaneously. It was too much for him to bear. It wasn't physical pain that caused the name to come rolling down his tongue. It was the emotional pain of all these stings, stings of bugs he didn't even know the origin of. He didn't know where they came from or why they came out and started to pester him. He didn't know why he suddenly felt all those emotions, and he didn't know what they all meant. All he knew was that the gates were opened for these bugs the moment he saw her. And under the pain of the stings and the bites, he had to cry out, he had to call for help, to whimper and just say anything that could tell the others that he was getting crushed under the pressure. And so he did. And that cry for help, that desperate whimper turned out to be the name of the only person in the world that he knew had cared about him the most.

"Leslie," he said again, the name rolling down his tongue softly. His eyebrows were raised and his eyes were wide with surprise as he looked back at the author. His chest felt like they decided to shrink into the size of tiny coin purses. Suddenly, his breathing turned louder and more erratic. In that private room they were sitting in, the only noise that could be heard over the awkward and thick silence was the heavy breathing of the illustrator.

"Err...it's Sophie Anne Brooke, actually," Sophie clarified, one corner of her lips quirking up in an awkward smile. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but she seemed to have thought better and just closed it again as her eyes broke contact with Jess' and fell on her watch once more. When she spoke again, her voice was softer, but tenfold more discombobulated. "I'm, you know, the author that you're supposed to have a meeting with about an ago," she explained, her head turned to Jess once more, but her eyes wouldn't meet his. She was staring at his feet. "I am so sorry for being late. If your appointment with Miss Leslie Burke comes after your meeting with me, I'll understand if you're going to dismiss me and move on to her. It's my fault after all. I'm really, really sorry, Mr. Aarons." She was rambling, her words tripping over each other as she wrung her hands. She knew that was probably irritating Mr. Aarons further, but she really didn't know what else to say.

Leo was quick to stand in an attempt to prevent the situation from going the direction it was going. His face was contorted in confusion. He knew for a fact that Jess didn't have any other appointments after this. He had understood Jess was dead nervous about this meeting with Sophie, but Leo couldn't fathom why the illustrator was acting the way he was acting now. He looked like he'd just seen a ghost.

"No, no, no, no. Aarons doesn't have any other appointments today," the representative said, his hands waving in a "No" gesture. "You don't, right?" He turned his head to Jess, his eyebrows quirked up in inquiry, but without waiting for an answer, he turned back to Sophie. "He doesn't. Why don't you just sit down first, Sophie?" He walked to the third chair on the table, the one on Jess' right and pulled it out for her.

Sophie looked hesitant to sit down. She was looking at Jess once more, trying to make out if he would speak out and tell her she couldn't sit there because she'd been too late and he had other things to do, but he didn't show any signs of the anger that Sophie was expecting. Actually, he didn't show any signs of anything. He just sat there, staring back at her, and quite frankly, it was starting to freak her out. Suddenly, all the excitement in her system about meeting him had been replaced with dread. This wasn't the way she had imagined her first meeting with him to be. She had imagined they would be smiling at each other, the slight friendship they had built up in the past few months through their correspondence would be the catalyst for them to at least enjoy each other's companies for the time being while they start getting to know each other in person. She had so much hope for this meeting, but now, that hope had been trampled on. And she had nobody else to blame but herself. She knew she had messed it up. She still didn't know what _exactly_ was going on, why Jess looked so...lost...and confused, but she knew it was her fault.

The atmosphere thickened with awkwardness once more. Even Leo, who was usually the one to cheerfully break the ice, was just sitting on his own seat, alternating from staring at Jess, and then at Sophie. He wanted to try and break the awkwardness, and a few minutes ago, he had planned to break it up and start the fun conversation by joking about Jess' guess about Sophie's age. But now, that didn't seem to be such an appropriate conversation starter. "So..." he started hesitantly as he rubbed his palms together, his _tell_ when he was nervous; much like Jess' tapping of his fingers on the tabletop half an hour ago.

"I'm really, really sorry, Mr. Aarons, Leo. I tried to get here as fast as I could. There was thick traffic ten blocks away, and the cars weren't moving at all." Sophie apologized yet again as she bit at her lip nervously. "If...you'd rather be somewhere else and with someone else, I'll understand. We can...move this meeting. If you want?" The end of her question was barely even audible. She had stopped staring back at Jess at that point, her eyes just opting to stare at the mahogany table. She couldn't take the intensity with which she stared at her with. There was something about it that unsettled her. Under the table her hands were on her lap, fiddling nervously with the hem of her blouse. Sophie wasn't usually this nervous around people. She was the kind to strike friendships even during first meetings, but she just couldn't seem to do anything about this one, especially since as it was her fault. She didn't deem herself in the right position to be her usual self. She really just wanted to sink down and be eaten by the floor and vanish forever. It wouldn't sound too bad a way to go. That was what she had been thinking about when she heard it: a thud that came from under the table, followed by a loud and surprised yelp. When she looked up, she found Jess' face slightly screwed up in pain. She didn't have to be a genius to figure out that Leo had just kicked Jess under the table.

"I believe Miss Brooke here just spoke to you, Mr. Aarons." There was a sweet smile on the rep's face as he said the words, but his eyes were flashing with a warning to Jess. Under his breath, he told Jess, "If you don't stop creeping her out right now, Aarons, I swear my foot will come in contact with something higher than just your shin."

And then, finally, Jess was addressing Sophie. It took him two deep breaths and a shake of his head to clear his thoughts, but after that, the awkwardness that hung on the atmosphere seemed to go down three notches. "No, I...uhhm...no. I don't have any other appointments after this, Miss...Brooke. I'm sorry for the way I acted. I just...thought you were someone else. I kind of thought you looked like someone I knew." He swallowed thickly, but the lump in his throat remained. "I'm wrong, though, so I'm really sorry." Even as he said the words, there was still that nagging feeling in the back of his mind that contradicted his statement. Somehow, there was this thought that told him he wasn't wrong. He scratched the spot behind his ear just as he fixed an apologetic smile on his face. It took a lot more effort than what the act of smiling usually took, but still, he managed. "Can we...can we just start over?" He leaned closer to the table and extended his hand. "I'm Jesse Oliver Aarons. The guy you've been talking to for the past few months, and apparently the guy who just _weirded_ you out. I'm...I'm really sorry for acting strange."

So, just like that, the worried expression on Sophie's face was wiped off. In its place came a wide and thankful smile. The eagerness with which she grabbed Jess' hand was also palpable. As easy as that, the heavy weight on the atmosphere was lifted off. Even Leo, who had been rigid all this time, laughed while saying, "Oh, man," Just as his shoulders eased up.

"I'm Sophie Anne Brooke. You can call me Sophie or Anne or Brooke, whatever you want. And what do you say about the offer of us moving on from my tardiness, and forgetting about your weirdness?" she offered, slowly testing the waters and easing into a light conversation.

"Deal, Miss 'Whatever-You-Want'" Jess said, the tone of teasing slowly tainting his voice and making the smile on his face a tad bit easier to keep. "No, but really, it's nice to finally meet you, _Sophie." _The emphasis he put on her correct name this time chased away the panicked thoughts that clouded his mind a few minutes ago. He felt the thoughts starting to retreat back to the shelf they'd been kept in for years. In his mind's eyes, he saw the gates shutting, keeping the bugs of unwelcome emotions out, and the lid of the container closing, preventing the water of his panic from spilling over. Even the sensation of falling had ceased for a while. Now he didn't feel like falling. He kind of still felt like he was suspended in mid air, instead of being put down on levelled ground, but at least his soul wasn't being snatched from his body anymore.

"It's great to meet you, too, _Jess, _finally_"_ Sophie said, resorting to using the nickname that she had heard Leo using on Jesse. Somehow, it felt right when it rolled out of her tongue. The name felt like a familiar candy he had tasted as a child and was now being blessed another taste.

"You have no idea how long I've waited to meet you," said Jess.

"And you guys have no idea," Leo started, his eyes glued to Jess and Sophie's hands, which are still clasped together in the middle of the table. A smirk pulled at the corner of his lips as he placed his own hand atop theirs. "How happy I am that I get to call you by your names now. God knows I'm getting tired of all the "J" and "S" business. It's not even funny anymore how hard it's become to keep myself from slipping and accidentally calling one their proper name while talking to the other. You two are a hard tandem to work with."

As if only realizing then that their hands were still clasped together, Jess cleared his throat awkwardly as he pulled his out from Leo and Sophie's grasp. "I'm just glad I actually have a name to use now, to be honest. It was really hard using no other pronouns as 'them' and 'they' when I refer to you. I didn't even know for sure if you were male or female. That was the hardest part."

"Hmmm-mmh," Sophie hummed as she and Leo simultaneously pulled their hands back. She looked at Leo and smirked, an eyebrow quirking as she remembered a particularly funny text that Leo had sent her more than a half hour ago. The rep seemed to understand what her expression meant because upon seeing it, she reflected her smirk. "Yeah, it must have been really, really hard, huh? I mean, there's always the possibility of me being a man as old as your grandfather, right?"

In his defence, Leo did try to contain his laughter. The keyword here being _try,_ of course. As Jess' face heated up with embarrassment, his eyes widening, Leo let out a loud laugh. "It must be the rheumatism, Soph," he joked in between chuckles.

"Wha—how? How did you—?"

"Oh, Leo was giving me updates while I was stuck in traffic a while ago," Sophie explained, her smile only widening.

Jess turned to Leo, his eyebrows furrowed and his eyes accusing. "Traitor."

"What?" Leo held up his hands in surrender. "It was funny, man, I had to tell someone."

"You suck, Bard," Jess said to Leo, but his voice wasn't really angry. He was still embarrassed though, but he took comfort in the fact that Sophie was merely laughing about it, and not really taking it as an insult. He wouldn't want to offend her. "It's good to know that I was at least able to make your boring time while stuck in traffic a little bit more entertaining, though," he told Sophie.

"Yep. It seems I owe you a life debt for saving me from dying of boredom out there."

As Sophie and Jess continued talking about lighter topics, just joking around getting settled into more familiarity, Leo called for the waiter. They ordered, and the food came. All three of them continued talking while they ate. Sometimes it would be Jess and Sophie engrossed in conversation about the book and the things they talked about in the past two months. It was like they were getting re-acquainted again. Jess felt great. As time passed by he felt himself forgetting about the dread and the panic that, only an hour prior, was suffocating him. He was having so much fun with Sophie. She really knew how to keep conversations light. He was seeing a side of her he hadn't been able to see through letters the past month. It was then that Jess realized he hadn't been wrong in assuming that the author of Down the Rainbow was a very cheerful person. Now Jess knew why even through e-mails, he could still feel the excitement, eagerness and energy that Sophie had. She was filled to the brim with it, full the point that it was spilling all over the place and infecting both him and Leo. With the way she smiled, so carefree and happy, the way she laughed, so loud and genuine, and even the way her eyes seemed to smile, she exuded an aura that just made anyone in her presence feel comfortable around her. Jess was having fun, that was obvious. In that moment, he felt like smacking himself. Why the heck was he so nervous about meeting this person a while ago? More over, why the heck was he so panicked upon settling his eyes on her? Sitting there right now, listening to her laugh and babble on, Jess couldn't find a reason for him to be guarded around her. He felt like there was no reason for him to be scared. If only he knew how wrong he was.

The light conversation continued. The meeting didn't even feel like a meeting, to be honest. It just felt like three friends hanging out. Even as the plates have been cleaned up from their table, no traces of business talk had even made into their conversation. Leo didn't make a move to start the serious matters, which, although it might seem odd, wasn't really surprising to Jess. He had a feeling that Leo had arranged this 'meeting' only for the sole purpose of them getting to know each other before they would have to plunge into the stress that the following moths post the publication of the book was going to bring upon them. Jess wasn't planning on complaining. He was enjoying this far too much to push for a different route of conversation. But then, it seemed like someone up there had other plans for him. Just as fast as the weight being lifted off of his shoulders a while ago had been, it all came back and ripped his lungs from his chest.

It started with just one thought. Had Jess known that that thought would serve as the key for the gates to be re-opened once more, he would have stopped his mind from going there in the first place. It he'd only known, he would have stopped his train of thought before it even got to the station. It started when he thought of how vivid Sophie's words were.

"It was captivating, Leo, you really should go and have a look at it," Sophie had said to Leo, then. They had been talking about a book that Sophie had recently read. Apparently, according to Sophie, the imagination of the writer was so vivid, it was like she was being brought into the world with just a snap of a finger.

Naturally, after having read a book that Sophie herself had written, Jess was quick to reply. "Well, your own words in your book are really amazing. I mean, the way you described things is just so real. I can see the whole scene happening in my mind." And then, Jess went and thought about the scene in the book that really captivated him. It only took him a nanosecond to come up with it. It was literally the part in the book that he couldn't forget about. "That part in Down the Rainbow when the kids were brought in the kingdom underwater is literally the most real and most vivid part of a book I've ever read. I seriously just saw everything happening in my mind. And it didn't even take any effort at all in my part when I had to draw about it. The descriptions you used were so real, you painted a beautiful scenery in my mind. The school of silver fishes, the air bubbles, the blueness of the water, and the beauty of the kingdom, it was all so wonderful, I swear, _I almost drowned._

And then, like a snap of a twig after it was stepped on, his mind was suddenly brought back to ten years ago. Suddenly, it was like he was eleven years old again, sitting at an old desk in a classroom full of fifth graders back in Lark Creek Elementary School, witnessing a blonde girl with blue-green eyes paint a picture in his mind with no brush and no paint, nothing but the words that she wrote on a piece of paper, with which she weaved a whole new world. Jess stopped talking abruptly, his mind racing as his heart seemed to skip two beats. When he was brought back to the present, it didn't help much because Sophie was now looking at him with eyes that shone with happiness and enjoyment. Jess looked back at her, his stare becoming intense once more because in that very moment, Jess seemed to find the answer that cleared up the muddled thoughts he had when he first laid eyes on Sophie Brooke. Now, he knew why the first words that came out of his mouth when he first saw Sophie was Leslie's name. It was because of her eyes and the emotions he saw in them. When he had turned around before and his eyes first met Sophie's, what he saw in her orbs were awe and amazement, probably at his drawing. That look of awe and amazement she had swimming in her eyes were the _same_ intense awe and amazement that he used to see in Leslie's eyes whenever he would show her a new drawing he'd done. He couldn't ever forget that look because that look had always made him feel like all the hours spent on that drawing and all the efforts exerted on it was tenfold more worth it because Leslie loved it. And now, as Jess looked back at Sophie's eyes that seemed to glimmer upon hearing his appreciation of the book she had written, Jess knew for sure that the look she had in her eyes was the same emotion Leslie would always have whenever he would tell her how beautiful he thought Terabithia was because she, the Queen, made it so.

In that very moment, in Jess'mind's eye, it wasn't only his best friend's name that wanted to spill out of his mouth after fear had filled him up, it wasn't only the painful sting of emotions that threaten to bite at him like the bugs did, it wasn't only the questions that sprouted out from under the earth. In that moment, Jess felt pain filling him to the brim, and no amount of spilling, no word he would say could relieve him of the pressure building up inside him like an ache he couldn't shake, an ache he had never really been able to shake off even after a full decade. It wasn't just emotions that bit him as he sat there, frozen and motionless, it was the past that came back to tear him to bits. It wasn't only questions that sprouted out...it was like his best friend herself had come back. As his hands shook, Jess could only listen to one nagging thought: right then and there...he felt like Leslie rose from her ashes and had come back to haunt him...

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**A/N: **And there we go. I am so sorry for the long wait. The past week has just been really hectic for me, what with job hunting and stuff like that. As a peace offering, I give you this chapter, which is twice as long as the first chapter. I hope I managed to be informative and entertaining, though, and not just boring because of the length. I know you'd still have so many questions right now. I was planning on not cutting off the chapter here, but it's getting too long. Also, it's 3AM. I have to post this quick. On that note, I wouldn't be able to answer the reviews I received last chapter. I'll do that tomorrow. But know that I appreciate and love each and every one of it, and also the alerts. Thank you so much. It means a lot to me. I'll reply to it tomorrow. In the mean time, send me more opinions about this new chapter. Byeee!


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